La Center elementary and middle school students head to class last Thursday morning.
CALE JOHNSON
cale@thereflector.com
The possibility of the La Center School District running a bond is no longer a matter of if and when, but how.
Superintendent Dave Holmes said the district will do so in the Nov. 7 general election. Details of the bond are still being finalized by the school board, but a resolution is expected in June.
“The board is yet to create a resolution, but we’re hoping by the June board meeting we will have something done,” Holmes said.
According to Holmes, the district is currently working with the Educational Service District and the state to make sure LCSD’s bond will qualify for matching funds.
“We’re still 30 days away from getting everything ready,” Holmes said.
Once the details of the bond are completed, he said campaigning will begin, although it already had to a degree. On the district website, there is already a live countdown to election day, Nov. 7.
Still to be determined are where a new school would be built, which type (elementary, middle or high school) and how much it will cost. In the fall, LCSD hosted a handful of community discussion nights and put out a survey to gain opinions from residents. Holmes said two pieces of feedback stood out — one, the community doesn’t seem to want a new school built on land the district owns off of Bolen Street, about a mile and a half northwest of downtown, and two, that the district should consider building a middle school.
“We heard pretty clearly by the community that the Bolen property is not their number one choice,” said Holmes.
The main reasons against it are the Bolen site is too far from downtown and there are no water or sewer lines running to it.
According to Holmes, the district is searching for alternatives, but time is of the essence, so building on the Bolen Street property is still a possibility.
“In lack of finding one (a different location), that is where we will end up,” Holmes said.
He added that high construction costs are an issue as well.
This month, Holmes said LCSD set new enrollment records, which is uncommon so late in the year.
“Usually numbers decrease as the year goes on,” Holmes said.
With expected continued growth, Holmes said there is no time to wait on running a bond beyond this November.
“We will do it right,” Holmes said on preparing the bond. “We’re just fighting time.”
